Hi friends, family, coworkers, fellow sick chicks, strangers, and whoever else happened upon this campaign! My name is Kayli, and let me tell you a little bit more about me. I grew up living a relatively ?normal? childhood. I played with friends, played piano and trumpet (mainly), and was a part of several singing groups. I could never keep up with my peers physically. I struggled to play sports because my joints are so flexible and unstable, and that would cause pretty severe muscle and joint pain. My freshman year of college I got sick with a pretty gnarly case of pneumonia. That illness triggered a cascade of autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease, Hashimoto?s thyroiditis, and CIDP. Most importantly, it triggered my genetic condition, classical Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, to spiral, and my health and my life have never been the same since.

EDS has changed my entire life. I wouldn?t wish it on my worst enemy. It consumes my entire existence, and there is not a single day that goes by that I am not constantly reminded of my disability, and what I can or cannot do. It has robbed me of my ability to eat, leaving me with a feeding tube,, an ileostomy, and am now TPN dependent. I have more doctors than friends. My days of ?packing light? for a weekend trip are over. I could go on and on and on, but I?ll spare you the details.

I graduated from nursing school in May of 2020, and have been working as a pediatric nurse ever since. I love the work I do, and the kiddos i care for give my life meaning and a sense of fulfillment I didnt know was possible. I am a very driven (some would say stubborn) person, meaning the minute I would get out of the hospital, I would immediately go back to work.

Since moving to Denver in 2021, I have gone septic a total of 5 times, have been hospitalized for months at a time, and have been left without a source of income. In October of 2023, I went into sudden cardiac arrest, which resulted in my brain being deprived of oxygen for 12 minutes, ischemic strokes on both halves of my brain, and a hypoxic brain injury. I had to relearn how to talk, sit, stand, walk, swallow, write, and so much more.

Which leads us to the present. I have been without health insurance since July, and I am having to pay out of pocket for my medications, IV fluids, PT, OT, and SLP therapy sessions, central line supplies, ostomy supplies. Basically everything I need to function. I absolutely cannot afford TPN right now; a 2 week supply of TPN for me would cost roughly $2,500. I am having to ration my medications, use my supplies very carefully as to not waste anything, all while having no feasible access to nutrition. I have had to cancel all of my therapies (PT, OT, and SLP) which is not ideal, as it stalls my recovery.

I told myself I would never make something like this to ask for donations from others, but it?s like they say: desperate times call for desperate measures. It is an absolute miracle that I am alive. I have survived multiple bloodstream infections, leading to sepsis, bowel obstructions and resections, surgery after surgery, cardiac arrest, starvation. I know God is not finished with my story yet. Life continues to knock me down, but still, I choose to rise. If you have the means, if the Lord moves you, if you are moved by my story, please purchase from my campaign, so you can have a reminder of the truth that is in the rising. Lamentations 3:22-23 states ?Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!? I am so grateful that God wrote His promises in the sky.